Children of the Moon
by Forever Her Nagisa-chan
Summary: If Edward thought the Quileute boys were dangerous, he's in for a surprise. A big, furry one. Latest Updates: Added to Chapter 2, with Author's Note!
1. Preface

This was far more than a simple encounter with an angry Quileute. This was much, much worse. The beast glowering at me from across the clearing with lips pulled back in a snarl could easily have dwarfed Sam or Jacob. As I backed up until I felt my clothing stick to the rough bark behind me, I still couldn't help but categorize its glowing crimson eye color for later. If there would even be a later.

Literally hearing the ticking of my clock run down, I closed my tear-filled eyes to send a last mental cry for help to my personal savior. He'd never been able to hear my thoughts, though, and he was probably hundreds of miles away by now.

As the heavy crunch of leaves indicated the werewolf's slow approach, a fearsome roar of fury more terrifying than anything I'd heard so far drew near.


	2. Brighter Days

Little had changed over my far too brief spring break. The ever rainy town of Forks was still plagued by mythological creatures, and I was still caught in the middle of the many interspecies conflicts. Yep, nothing new there.

I still hadn't forgiven Edward or Jacob, though. I'd spent three days of mental anguish during the first days of vacation as the vampires and werewolves set a trap for the elusive Victoria. But for the first time since really settling in here in this wet little town, I felt save... and maybe even normal. Well, about as normal as any girl with a vampires for a boyfriend and a werewolf for a best friend could be, anyway. Of course, I use the terms "boyfriend" and "best friend" pretty loosely. I don't think either of them quite covers it.

There was no denying the effect Victoria's death had had on Edward, either. He seemed willing to ignore how "dangerous" he was to my health. I hadn't believed that for a second anyway.

"You're quiet today," my favorite velvet voice murmured, breaking into my thoughts and effectively ending my inner monologue. Keeping his liquid topaz eyes focused on my face with a look of curiosity in them—instead of on the road as any sane _human_ would—he carefully brought my hand up to his face to brush his cool, smooth lips over my knuckles.

That brought on the rush of heat to my face that he never seemed to tire of, and he chuckled under his breath as he reluctantly turned his gaze back to the road; we were almost at our destination. It was some time before I could properly gather my thoughts to even _think_ about responding to his comment.

I shook my head absently, trying to remember what I'd been thinking about before. That brought on one of his frowns—nearly as gorgeous as his crooked smile—and I grinned in response to his look of frustration and near torment.

"You're just gonna have to get used to it," I responded casually, trying not to grin again at the way his frown became even more pronounced. "It'll be good for you," I added teasingly as he rolled his eyes, deftly turning the steering wheel to pull us into a smooth park.

"I can't imagine how the rest of the world does it," he muttered almost to himself in a tone just loud enough for my less sensitive human ears to pick up. He was already sliding out of his seat, and I scowled at his back for the very brief moment I saw it until he appeared at the door. Flashing his brilliant, perfect teeth at me to dispel my bad mood, he all but lifted me out of my seat. It couldn't completely stifle my grumbling, though. Vampire or not, I still thought he should wear a seatbelt, if only for my sanity's sake.

The sudden lurch of the world around me once more wrecked my train of thought, and I glared at his perfect marble face while he responded with a perfectly rehearsed innocent smile.

"I could let you walk yourself," he mused, though the triumphant glimmer in his light eyes showed he knew just what I thought of that.

I sighed.

"And end up at Carlisle's mercy again? I think not." Grinning smugly, he took off into the now semi-familiar forest with my face buried in the cold stone of his chest. I stayed that way the whole time he ran (or maybe _flew_ is a better word for it), knowing the blur of the forest rushing by would only make me sick. I just hoped the trip there was as quick as I remembered it.

xxx

"You can let go now, you know," he murmured, sounding like he was barely containing laughter. Grumbling to myself, I released my iron grip around his neck to slide down to the grass. His topaz eyes glimmered with amusement as he carefully caught my arm to steady me. Even though I'd had my eyes closed, the run still seemed to have made me dizzy. Then my gaze turned toward the meadow—_our _meadow.

It wasn't the beauty of the meadow that really captivated me like this—I'd gotten over that during our first visit, when he'd revealed his secret about the sun. It was just knowing that this was _our _spot and no one else's that seemed to leave my breath caught in my chest and throat. Smiling with maybe just a little mischief, I stepped forward and pulled him out into the meadow.

The sight of his skin glimmering like the brightest of diamonds was something I'd never get used to, and, like always, I was perfectly content to curl up against his cool body and stare at him. He seemed almost unwilling to close his eyes, and we spent hours just staring at each other like that.

"What are you thinking about?" I finally asked, grimacing as my completely _human_ voice broke the magic of the moment. He merely smiled.

"Nothing in particular... This moment," he mused, possibly the most relaxed I'd ever seen him. Sighing a little, I repositioned myself a little closer to him in spite of the little bit of lingering winter chill in the air. At times like this, it was almost possible to forget about my real future. There was so little danger to me right now, it was easier to imagine staying human for a bit longer—as long as I didn't think too far ahead.

I gave another, sadder sigh as I thought of that. I was already older than Edward would ever be, and my next birthday was still too close for comfort. Edward frowned down at me in concern, but I merely shook my head. There was no sense in ruining the moment with an argument we'd had too many times already.

Eventually, he seemed to give up, and we spent the rest of the daylight hours in our meadow, until it was finally too cold to stay there any longer.

* * *

_**I just wanted to say thanks to everyone who's read my story so far, especially to I Have Cullenism for posting the review that motivated me to start back up on my story.**_

_**I've added a little bit to this chapter because it seemed a little too short for me, and it's likely the preface will be added to at some point down the road, as well.**_

_**I can't say I know where the story is gonna go over the next few chapters **_**quite_ yet, but I'll do my best to get you at least a chapter a week. :)_**


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